Sorry to hear about Poppy, Paula. I have never had a cat but one of my greyhounds broke her "pinkie" toe last winter (no idea how it happened with the garden all snowed in) and it cost me a bundle in vet bills as well.
good luck with the surgery, and I hope she will recover quickly.

My cat Zephyr broke his back right leg when he was about a year old. He was a hefty kitten and went to jump off a bed but got his back claw got caught in the bedspread. He jumped, his leg twisted with the weight of him, and his leg broke. He had to have emergency surgery and wore a blue cast for well over two months. We had hardwood floors so we could always hear him coming, tha-thunk tha-thunk tha-thunk all the way down the hall.

This is Zephyr today, overlooking my knitting project.

That Zephyr is a beauty!